Striker out for Hammers

15th March 2019, 13:33 by Nick Harris

West Ham will be without the services of ankle injury victim Andy Carroll for the home clash with Huddersfield.

The latest setback is just one of numerous injury problems the former England forward has suffered and the club are waiting to hear the extent of the current problem, with some predicting he has played his last game for the side.

Elsewhere, Fabian Balbuena was back on the bench in last weekend's defeat away to Cardiff and will be pushing Angelo Ogbonna for a starting berth in defence.

Samir Nasri, Marko Arnautovic and Michail Antonio will also push to start after being on the bench last time out.

Hammers boss Manuel Pellegrini has explained Arnautovic's absence and says he is ready to come back.

He said: “Marko was out of the team for several reasons. First, because his mind was out when he had the option to go to China. Then he returned and didn’t work for about a week, so he needed time to recover his performance.

“After that, he was sick. He was going to start against Manchester City, but he felt bad that day. There’s a lot of reasons why he was starting on the bench, but I think he is ready to return in his position.”

This article originated on sportinastorm.com

Nick Harris is a long-standing journalist who specialises in football and rugby league. An avid golfer, Nick also follows the major boxing fights closely.